Serbia’s lesbian premier set to shake up macho Balkan politics

Serbia to have first gay prime minister as Ana Brnabic is chosen

Ana Brnabic, who has been nominated as Serbia’s new prime minister. She would be the first woman to run Serbia and the region’s first openly gay leader. Photograph: Koca Sulejmanovic/EPA

The macho world of Balkan politics looks set to be shaken up by Ana Brnabic, an openly gay woman who has been nominated as Serbia’s new prime minister.

President Aleksandar Vucic chose the western-educated Ms Brnabic (41) in a bold statement of Serbian support for the values of the European Union, but the move riled socially conservative nationalists who favour closer ties with Russia.

Ms Brnabic would be the first woman to run Serbia and the region’s first openly gay leader. Experts question how much influence she could wield, however, given Mr Vucic’s vast personal power and his pledge to give a major role to the experienced and more Kremlin-friendly Ivica Dacic, the leader of the Socialist party.

“I would like to thank the president for placing enormous trust in my capabilities to lead the government,” said Ms Brnabic who has sought to slash Serbia’s stifling bureaucracy as minister for public administration.

If approved by a parliament dominated by Mr Vucic’s populist Progressive Party, Ms Brnabic vowed to work “honestly and with passion” for “citizens who expect to feel the results of the government’s work through better quality of life.”

After a landslide election victory in April, Mr Vucic is expected to use the presidency to consolidate his domination of Serbian politics, while continuing to try to balance foreign relations between the EU and Russia.

Mr Vucic said he hoped the new government would stick with his policy of not joining western sanctions against Russia, and would strengthen “Serbia’s positions on the international scene, in both the west and the east”.

While Ms Brnabic may deflect criticism of Mr Vucic from liberal Serbs and western diplomats who see an authoritarian streak in him, her nomination angered nationalists with pro-Russian views and close ties to the Orthodox Church.

“Is it possible that the ruling majority has no other candidate for the prime minister-designate but one imposed by the West, which dictates all moves by this government?” the opposition Dveri party asked.